Bridges
by lionfart
Summary: Sometimes, people do crazy things just to help make ends meet. Even when it leaves you with a sore body and bruises in the morning. Modern AU.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I do not own Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin. I do own a fish, though, so there's that.**

* * *

- THE UPCOMING -

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Mikasa Ackerman was a fucking mess.

The idle girl looked at herself in the pristine mirror carefully, studying her pale face and chapped lips with her dark eyes. An unknowing eye would have automatically assumed the Asian to be a simple girl, with no past or future to shed a tear towards.

But as soon as her long sleeves began to roll back, her trousers replaced with shorts and the makeup that she had carefully painted onto her face was wiped off, they would have seen every bruise, every scar that her body had ever held.

Mikasa reminds herself often that she had chosen her own path.

That it wasn't held against her will, that in a way she had inflicted those bruises herself.

She reminds herself that it was because of her that everyone she had ever loved was caught in a web that she had unknowingly woven with her own hands.

With a gentle sigh, Mikasa closed her eyes as she began to wrap her red scarf around the lower area of her face and neck as a pitiful way to conceal her identity for the upcoming fight.

The light from passing cars flashed in her dark room as she carefully wrapped her used handwraps around her wrists and knuckles, pulling the material tightly as she patiently completed her ritual.

Her eyes occasionally glanced towards her smart phone, waiting for the screen to briefly light up the dimly lit room, alerting her that her ride for tonight's match has arrived outside the apartment.

Mikasa stood up from her seat once she completed wrapping her fists and walked to the center of her bedroom, where there was no furniture in her way. Although, it wouldn't have made a difference if she had decided to move to any other area inside the room. It was practically bare, save for the vanity sitting across the door and the plain mattress placed onto the dirt-free floor. (Levi probably would have killed her before she could even think about tracking the apartment with her dirty shoes.)

The seventeen year old threw a few punches into the air, using her left hand to jab the space in front of her, bouncing between her toes lightly. Mikasa hadn't put on her black belt for a good seven years, but the karate moves and kickboxing combos Levi showed her less than a year ago came easy.

Mikasa's phone vibrated twice, the sound similar to the "thump thump" of her heartbeat. She could easily distinguish the beating sound in her ears if they were either from her cell phone or her own body. Usually, her heart would be pumping furiously for a few moments thanks to a certain brunet named Eren Jaeger, a feeling that would last a few moments until the butterflies growing in her stomach would finally settle down. On the other hand, her phone would beat for a fleeting two seconds before ending abruptly. That, and of course her phone would be fucking louder than her heartbeat. It was meant to gain her attention.

Frozen in place, the familiar rhythm allowed a pair of expressive green eyes to make a guest appearance into Mikasa's mind once again. She blinked towards the phone in silently. (What would Eren think of her if he found out that she had been participating in a fight club? Concerned? Angry?)

Suddenly, Mikasa snatched the phone from the wooden vanity, shoving it into her pocket as she grabbed a black sweater hanging off of her door knob.

Without turning her back, Mikasa slammed the door to her room shut before exiting the empty apartment. The scarf-clad girl had no worries towards the thought of Levi finding out about her "activities." He was the one who suggested the idea to her, supporting her rash decision in legitimately joining the ring with emotionless eyes.

Mikasa tied her converse knock-offs before locking the door to their apartment, jogging lightly towards the entrance and exit doors. She wasn't exactly nervous about the risk of her losing to her opponents.

By now, Mikasa was already used to winning.

* * *

- PRESENT -

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"I'm not taking her."

Petra stared at Levi dumbfounded, her mouth wide open and left eye twitching. She was about to speak against the man before Erwin interrupted her before she could even open her mouth.

"Levi, you're her only existing relative left. Make this easier for the social workers."

"She's what, sixteen? Girls her age are only going to shit over everything I own and take my money. She's old enough for emancipation, anyways."

Levi took another sip from his tea cup as he stared at Erwin across from him on his old couch, the colour already fading from overuse.

"Her parents were killed, Levi. She's probably too traumatized to take care of herself after all of that," Erwin continued.

The shorter man scoffed. "If she's really related to me, then she's probably perfectly capable of handling it."

Erwin sighed, suppressing the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. Petra sat beside him, frowning down at the warm cup of tea in her hands instead of the apathetic man in front of her.

"Think about it," Petra started. "Who knows? Mikasa probably won't be that bad. Besides, maybe taking a break from living alone will be a nice experience!"

Before Levi could respond, Erwin spoke up. "I understand that you have some financial problems at hand, but at the age of sixteen-"

"-Financial problems?" Petra repeated his words out loud, raising an arched eyebrow at her coworker. "You never told me anything about that."

The man in question sighed, briefly gazing at his wall clock before standing up from his seat with the empty ceramic cup in his hand.

"It's not your business, Petra. It's getting late and I have work tomorrow. You two should probably leave now."

Petra looked at Levi questioningly before rising from her chair, her movements synchronized with Erwin as they gathered their tea cups from the old coffee table.

Levi watched the two with apathetic eyes as they made their way into the small kitchen. Their concern for him and the younger girl were evident, and he couldn't be any more gracious, however the choice to take in his relative was purely for him to decide. Help was unnecessary.

He glanced towards the unopened envelope lying on the counter. Levi could easily rip it into two if he wanted to. Burn the material. Hell, he could fucking eat the unsigned documents whole and shit it out hours later if he wanted to. (But of course he wouldn't, because that would have been melodramatic and disgusting.)

Or, Levi could simply throw the paper into the recycle bin. Trash, even, just to make sure that the documents wouldn't come back to haunt him in any other form to eat away at his guilt.

In a way, her life was practically in his hands. Levi had the power to ship her to Japan, or Europe, anywhere else her other surviving relatives were currently living. (Did she even have any other relatives besides him?) He could keep her in the orphanage, or even throw the poor girl out into the streets because if he had managed to do it, then why can't she?

Levi blinked. The social worker's must have been idiotic to believe that giving him the power of deciding this girl's future was a good idea. But then again, maybe their decision for her path would have ended up in even worse results compared to his.

"We will see you tomorrow."

Erwin's voice shook Levi out of his train of thought. The shorter man simply nodded in response.

Petra sent Levi a weak smile before making her way out of the apartment, Erwin blinking at Levi once more before trailing behind the shorter woman in the narrow hallway.

When the two left, he slammed the door shut, staring the unsigned forms once again.

Levi stared at the sheets for several moments before heading towards them, sighing deeply as he grabbed a dark blue disposable pen lying on the counter an arm's length away that he should have put away hours ago.

The contract was practically three miles long. The print was extremely tiny, to the point where the reader would have to squint in order to comprehend the writing. Levi had gone through all the forms earlier, reading them at least four times but even now it still felt like he hadn't completely scoured through all of the papers.

Flipping the page over, Levi was greeted with blank boxes and empty spaces filling the sheet of paper, slapping him in the face. His stomach plummeted at the thought of completing all of the paperwork. (Wait, what? Was he actually going to be doing all of this?)

Levi's head shot up, his eyebrows furrowing in thought.

He looked around the empty apartment, the sound of cars honking and driving past the building filling in the silence. The living area was small. Even though he did his best to make sure the apartment was pristine clean with no clutter at all, there was barely enough space as it was for another person to live in.

Once, he managed to live peacefully with _two _other roommates, and miraculously, Levi even grew fond of them. (What a disastrous tragedy that turned out to be later on.)

But not only did he have to worry about the living space, Levi also had the frighteningly low numbers on his bank account. A few years back, he had taken various illegal jobs to help make ends meet before, but for now he was positive he didn't want to go back into the business anytime soon. (Too risky. It could bring a lot of people that he talked to on a daily basis in trouble.) His younger cousin would most likely have to take up a job in order to contribute to their living situation.

"Mikasa Ackerman," Levi whispered to himself. He breathed in deeply through his nose, his decision settled and carved into stone. "Hopefully I won't have to teach you in my class. Having your guardian as your homeroom teacher as well would be pretty shitty."

* * *

**A/N: yeah expect more characters to come in, of course. i was supposed to write this ages ago and didn't do it until now, mainly bc the success of my other friend prompted me to start doing something productive so here i am. the first little half was just a little show of what would be happening, basically a prologue, and i have a lot of action scenes planned out. favourite/follow/reviewing would be very helpful, because that is what motivates me to write and i am going to go zoom into space now and leave bai**


	2. Chapter 2

**A:N/ I do not own Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin.  
**

* * *

Levi was getting bombarded with texts from Hanji by the time Mikasa was scheduled to move into his apartment.

He really doesn't know why he is even bothering with reading the text messages. He had a shit load of homework to grade already, and he would have completed them earlier if it wasn't for the miles of paperwork he had to complete for the adoption process.

_Hanji: Why didn't you tell me your little cousin was moving in?!_

_Hanji: This is going to be great! Maybe she'll soften you up a bit and pull your head out of your ass_

_Hanji: What's her name_

_Hanji: Petra told me she might be learning at our school_

_Hanji: Wouldn't it be funny if she ended up as one of your students haha_

_Hanji: Are you cleaning up your apartment or shaving your legs or something why is it taking you so long to respond_

_Hanji: What if you were taller than her._

_Hanji: Wait a second, I'm imagining you with Erwin's eyebrows right now LOL_

Levi sighed. (Seriously, how the hell can her student's take her seriously as their Chemistry teacher?)

_Levi: I am grading my students' homework right now. Busy._

_Hanji: Weren't you supposed to finish those last week?_

_Levi: I was filling in the adoption forms. I'm leaving now._

The shorter man set his cracked phone back onto the table. Immediately, he brought his attention back to the sheets of half-assed answers and uncompleted work in front of him.

He honestly had no idea how Erwin had managed to convince him into applying for a high school teaching job. But it had managed to help pay off the bills (just barely) and that was all Levi really needed. However with a teenage girl moving in, it left him with second thoughts.

Three light knocks on the door called for his attention. He rose from the chair quickly, unlocking the entrance door. He was expecting the visit, completely aware that the social services had planned to drop off Mikasa today.

As he opened the door, he came face to face (or shoulder) with a brunette woman, a beaming smile practically illuminating her whole face. She wore a name tag on the left side of her chest, "Sam" printed on top of the steel material. The woman was holding a clipboard in her arms along with a blue duffel bag that looked like it was about to explode.

Hello!" She greeted Levi with a cheery tone, bringing the items into one hand to wave the other. "How are you, Levi? I haven't seen you since I dropped off the forms a few days ago!"

Levi nodded his head at her. "I'm fine, thank you." His eyes glanced beside Sam quickly, looking for the girl that he was adopting.

"Oh, Mikasa is just grabbing her things from the car," the social worker exclaimed.

"You can go sit down on the couch and wait for her. I'll go get us some water."

Levi left the door open, making his way into the kitchen. He could already feel the awkwardness in the air, tugging on his hair and pulling at his clothes. Luckily, he managed to handle putting on a smile (somewhat) for the visitor.

It had only been less than a week since Levi had been informed that Mikasa would be moving in. But the small amount of anxiety pooling in his stomach, it felt like that the news had been broken in less than a day ago.

He could hear Sam talking to the younger girl in the living room, shutting the front door shut as footsteps made their way to the couch.

"Mikasa, you can sit down over there and we can wait for Mr. Ackerman, alright?"

After hearing no response, Levi assumed Mikasa simply nodded her head and sat down like the obedient girl she (hopefully) was.

Juggling the three cups in his hands, Levi quickly made his way into the living room.

"Thank you!" Sam smiled at Levi, nudging for Mikasa to do the same.

Levi turned his head to Mikasa, watching her as she whispered a quiet "Thank you." He acknowledged her with a nod.

According the her adoption file, Mikasa had turned sixteen a few months ago. Her face and body suited her age, but he wouldn't blame anyone else if they thought the pale girl was a year or two older. Her defined facial features promoted a mature age along with the way she kept to herself. (He wonders if there was a time when she was more outgoing, if there was an aura of innocence that had surrounded her before her world of safety came to an end.)

Along with her features similar to his, Mikasa had a dark purple bruise on her right cheek bone, the mark painfully noticeable. Levi wasn't all too curious with the injury- when the social services contacted him and told him about her situation, they did not forget to mention that Mikasa had been supporting a swollen lip as well. Now, looking at her mouth, anyone would be able to point out the mark.

Sam coughed, breaking the silence in the room. "Mikasa, this is Levi. Mikasa, this is Mikasa."

"Hey," Levi casually greeted her.

"Hi."

Her voice was small, but it projected loud enough for Levi to hear. Although her greeting came out forced, he didn't care. (At least it was something.)

"Mikasa," Sam called for her. "Why don't you tell Levi about yourself?"

The girl jumped slightly, her eyes widening for a fleeting moment before she looked to her side in thought, as if she was attempting to predict the life of a stranger she had spotted on the street.

Levi stuck his palm out, shaking his head for her to stop.

"Don't. We can break the ice later. Sam, let's just talk about Mikasa's new living situations."

"Oh! Alright." Sam blinked twice at Levi before looking down at her clipboard. Her eyes roamed through the sheet of paper, quickly reading through the material before discussing it with the soon-to-be guardian.

During the time Levi and Sam discussed the new living situations for Mikasa, he noticed the way the teenager would barely move, practically frozen in the same position. She would occasionally scratch at an itch or to sip at her glass of water, but it was as if even the slightest twitch she created would result with a slap on the wrist. (This wasn't really surprising, because during the small amount of time she was taken hostage, that was most likely one of the rules that they had tattooed on the back of her eyelids.)

The meeting practically took ages, leaving Levi mentally rolling his eyes. The whole appointment was basically a run through the adoption forms he was forced to complete earlier, wasting the precious time he could have used to teach Mikasa the ropes of living with him. (Maybe even figure out a temporary financial solution.)

His orphaned cousin would be attending the same school he taught at, all documents involving the signature of the guardian will be mailed to the multiple legal facilities immediately.

"Last, Greisher Jaeger will still be documented as Mikasa's doctor. But if you feel the need to make a change, that will be absolutely acceptable!" Sam smiled at Levi.

"There's no need." (He was too tired to care at this point. All what he wanted was to get this done with.)

Sam nodded her head. She rose from the couch, gathering the multiple sheets of paper lying around as well as her clipboard.

"Well then Mr. Ackerman, that is all that I have to share with you today- oh!"

The woman jumped back down onto the couch, bouncing slightly on the material. "I almost forgot!"

Levi waited for her.

"All of the Ackerman's family belonging and money has been signed off and given to you! You'll be given the option to sell the house that they once owned, or you can keep it. I'm not sure if you can keep all of the money, though. That has to be given to repay their debts," Sam explained, ready for Levi to ask her anymore questions.

Levi narrowed his eyes. "About how much money will be transferred to my account?"

"Before or after they use it to pay off their debts?"

"After."

Sam scrunched her face in thought, tapping her lips lightly in attempt to recall the number.

"Not so much, I believe. Maybe, I guess- below one thousand? Not even, probably." Sam looked down at her knees. "I'm not even sure if there will be any more money to give," she whispered to herself.

"Sam. Will only the house be moved into my possession?"

The other woman brought her head back up quickly, giving Levi a reassuring smile. "That, and as well as the debt that the Ackerman family has left unpaid! But I am positive that you can schedule an appointment with the bank to discuss the-"

"-What the fuck?" Levi growled. Sam jumped in her seat before quickly grabbing her materials, leading herself back to the front door.

"I have to go now! Just remember that if there is any trouble with the living arrangement, the social services will not be afraid to take Mikasa back! Thank you for the coffee- I mean water, alright goodbye!"

Sam slammed the door shut, silence trailing after the abrupt noise. For a second, it seemed like the whole universe had muted itself, leaving behind patches of goosebumps up Levi's skin. Mikasa partnered with the silence, the two daring each other to break the tense stillness first.

The dark haired girl was the first to crack. Sitting on the couch patiently, she twiddled her thumbs in her lap. She slowly swiveled her head towards Levi, her first movement during the whole entire afternoon.

Levi sighed.

"You can set up your things in the room across the kitchen over there."

He stood next to Mikasa as she grabbed the duffel bag next to her. Watching her with curious eyes, Levi noted her little struggle in lifting the bag, as well as the large suit case in front of hr. Although he was not exactly sure how much the luggage weighed, he was positive it was heavier than it looked.

When Mikasa had finally gathered her bags, she stood up from the couch, her back stick straight next to Levi, waiting to trail behind him as they made their way to her new room.

He swore under his breath.

Standing next to Mikasa, Levi was practically a head smaller than the teenage girl. (There goes his and Hanji's hopes for having someone else in his life smaller than him.) He inwardly winced while making sure his face did not betray himself, showing off his disappointment.

Levi was shorter compared to more than a handful enough of people at least half his age, but then again he personally didn't care at all. But in this situation, having to force yourself to lift up your head to make eye contact with the girl you had to take under your wing was definitely _awkward._

However, the situation wouldn't affect Levi for long. A height difference wouldn't matter to him, not when he had more important matters to worry about.

Mikasa shifted her weight between her feet, awkwardly waiting for Levi to make his way. Immediately, understanding the body language, he started walking towards the hallway, shutting off the living room lights on the way.

"You came in with boxes, correct?" He questioned Mikasa.

She nodded her head. "Yes. Right beside the front door." The pale girl effortlessly carried the suitcase in one hand to turn the door knob.

"I'll go get them," Mikasa announced quietly.

Levi watched as she easily lifted the three boxes in her hands, barely staggering from the weight as she quickly made her way back to him. He rose an eyebrow at her.

Even though it appeared that help wasn't necessary, he felt that as of today, he should at least be treating her _somewhat _brotherly. (Someone, kill him now.)

"Do you need help?" He forced himself to ask.

Mikasa shook her head. "I'm fine."

Levi shrugged his shoulders.

(Apparently, this girl could lift.)

* * *

Eren Jaeger was not afraid to personally admit that he was an impulsive boy (man) with anger issues.

But such things couldn't be helped without anger management lessons, or maybe even that stupid tai chi shit Armin offered him to take, but there was no way he was stooping to that level. Eren already earned the hotheaded reputation in the school, and enrolling in psychological help wouldn't exactly help his name.

Then again, all what he had to do was find some way to release his anger. Playing midfield on the lacrosse team was one thing, but the brunet decided that it wasn't enough. Which was exactly why he planned on asking Annie (also known as Class 104's MMA _prodigy_) to train him starting this week.

He already knew that asking her wouldn't be easy. Hell, even standing next to her wasn't easy. Annie always managed to appear as if she was going to punch the throat of anyone who was talking to her. But he was determined to learn from the best, even if he was more likely to get more injured rather than injure others in the process.

Suddenly, Eren jolted slightly as somebody behind him flicked his ear. He furrowed his eyebrows angrily, turning around to find the perpetrator, only to come face to face with Jean Kirschtein. (Also known as the horse-faced asshole who flat out refused to admit that his hair was obviously dyed cotton-candy caramel.)

"The hell do you want, Kirschtein?!" Eren scoweled at Jean, irritation flooding through his veins from the smug smile the taller boy gave him.

Jean cocked his head. "What? I didn't do anything."

Huffing, the brunet turned back towards his desk. He opened his booklet to work on the homework that was assigned yesterday, deciding to take the advantage of the extra time before Mr. Ackerman arrived in the classroom. Their teacher was strangely late today instead of being on the dot as usual, but Eren brushed it off. He had to finish the assignment he had neglected due to the extra hour of drills and exercises he gave himself for lacrosse.

(That, and the amateur kickboxing moves he threw at a pillow taped onto the wall. After miscalculating where his foot would be landing after an attempted roundhouse kick, he accidentally made a hole in the wall. Luckily, the mark was easily concealed with a framed photo hanging just above it.)

Or, at least he _was _about to finish his homework. That was before Jean flicked his ear again.

Eren swung his head, growling at his smirk.

"What the hell is your problem, Horse-face?!"

Jean's smirk fell at the mention of the nickname. Even though it wasn't exactly his soft spot, it did manage to get on his nerves when used at the appropriate times. (Basically all the time.)

"The fuck did you just say to me?!" Jean stood up from his chair, prompting Eren to do the same.

The taller boy grabbed Eren by the collar with one hand, using the other to form a fist directed at the other boy.

In the background, their classmates paid no attention to the roughhousing. Their bickering was common, known to occur at _least _three times a day. Sometimes they did get along, but fighting was a part of their unique friendship, and as time gone by, everyone learned to accept it. Except for Sasha and Connie, who practically took out a bowl of popcorn that she managed to sneak in to watch the scene in front of them.

Eren shoved Jean away from him, bringing his forearms towards his face to protect himself from the blows that Jean was ready to throw at him. (He mentally thanked the multiple Youtube videos that had taught him to block and punch.)

He was fucking ready to show the moves he taught himself to this punk. Eren grinned, elated to finally have a human to practice on. The green eyed boy rolled the sleeves of his maroon hoody up quickly to get out of his way and for good luck.

Just before Jean threw his fist, the classroom door slammed open, hitting the wall beside it loudly. The noise resounded through the room, causing the students to quickly sit down in their seating arrangement as a reflex.

Eren scrambled to his desk, rolling his sleeves back down. Jean immediately filled the seat two to his left, unlike earlier when he was sitting in Marco's seat to flick his ear. As well as the seat behind him, the chair directly on his left where Armin would normally sit was empty.

The day before, Armin explained to him that he and Marco would be receiving a pass to skip all of their classes today. The two were part of the planning committee, and since the Valentines Dance was coming up, their schedules grew busier than ever. (He briefly wonders if they brought up Connie's suggestion on handing out condoms.)

Mr. Ackerman- or Levi, the 104 would call him behind his back- walked into the room slowly, carrying his briedcase in one hand as he slammed the door shut with more force than necessary. The tension in the room increased as he silently made his way to the front of the room, the sound of his footsteps echoing in the dead silent room.

Connie awkwardly brought his hand up, almost afraid to taint the atmosphere.

"Connie. What is it?" Levi called on him, his apathetic voice ringing in the students' ears.

"Yeah, er- why were you so late today?"

Levi blinked at Connie before sighing. "I was busy talking to your principal. Today, you brats will be receiving a new student."

Everyone's ears perked up at the words 'new student'.

Eren's eyes brightened, looking around briefly for Armin to marvel at the news together but stopped when he remembered that he wasn't present. (He was going to have to tell him later, then.)

The class exploded into whispers of excitement and curiosity before Levi coughed loudly, ordering them to stay silent.

Levi opened the classroom door, allowing the principal, Mr. Smith, inside as a black haired girl tailed behind him.

As soon as she entered the room, it was almost as if Eren could feel Jean's growing boner already. (Damn it Kirschtein, keep it in your pants.)

"Holy shit," Jean whispered to himself. Eren glared at him.

"Calm yourself," Eren snapped at Jean quietly.

Eren knew exactly why Jean was already falling head over heels for the girl. It wasn't exactly a mystery to figure out why he thought she was pretty. Her shiny black hair framed her pale face perfectly, leaving behind only a swatch of hair right above her nose. Her appearance hinted at an oriental ethnicity, dark eyes blinking around the room as everyone took in the site of their new classmate. He turned his head away when the brunet made eye contact with the girl.

(Okay, maybe he did think that she was _sort of _pretty, too.)

The only flaw in her appearance was her slightly swollen lip that clearly sparked curiosity in the rest of the class. She seemed unaffected by their wandering gazes, the only clue about her discomfort was the way she pulled the sleeves of her sweater over her wrists and into her sweater.

Levi coughed, turning to the new girl. "Introduce yourself."

"My name is Mikasa."

Eren noted her stone cold and hard voice. Her appearance reminded him of Levi, along with the way she spoke: blunt and apathetic. (Well, at least from what he heard her speak so far.)

Erwin smiled stiffly, nodding his head at Mikasa.

"Well, I'll be going now. Have a good day, students." He left the room, leaving Levi as the only adult in the classroom of little shits.

"Take a seat," Levi instructed Mikasa, turning around to face the white board as she wandered the classroom.

She walked to one of the only empty desks inside the room, right between Eren and Jean.

Eren's head immediately turned toward Mikasa. At first, it appeared as if he was about to give her a warm welcome into the class, but that was before his voice came out awkward and blunt.

"Actually, my friend Armin is sitting there. He isn't in class right now because he is in the planning committee."

Mikasa gathered her books. "Oh. Sorr-"

Jean interrupted Mikasa, giving her an enormous smile that gave Eren a headache. "N-No! Don't worry, I'm sure he won't mind! My uh, name is Jean by the way!" He glared at Eren when Mikasa turned away from him.

"Are you sure?"

Eren gave Jean the evil eye. "Yeah, whatever. Whether you sit down in it or not, it's still just a stupid seat anyways."

He spent the next hour of the class curiously watching the dark eyed girl on his left. Mikasa had never changed her position ever since she sat down; her back straight and hands hidden in the sleeves of her sweater on her lap.

Meanwhile, Eren had been bouncing his leg constantly while periodically shifting his position to either let his head rest on the top of his desk or to slouch against the back of his chair. He did his movements unconsciously along with the rest of his class.

His homeroom was always moving, each one of his classmates were currently either tapping their fingers against the desk or lightly stamping their feet on the floor rhythmically. (Except for Sasha, who fell asleep on her desk in the back of the room.)

Eren's eyes wandered back to her swollen lip. Although it was clear that it was fading, he wondered if it still hurt. The list of injuries he had gotten himself into lasted for miles, but surprisingly, the boy had never experienced the same injury she was holding. Briefly, he pondered how Mikasa had gotten her condition. Did she get punched? Fell down the stairs and landed on something? Maybe she made out with an aggressive kisser.

(Maybe he'll just ask right before lacrosse practice. Well, at least if he remembers to.)

* * *

Mikasa was alone. The second her parents had met their fates, the pale girl had been chained and gagged to drown herself with the remembrance of the axe that met her mother's shoulder and the knife implanted in her father's stomach. She used to be a dove: free, with barely any worries or depressing thoughts storming inside of her mind. Now, she was lost, wandering the streets of the earth, lost with no map or direction or even a helpful soul to at least experience the incident beside her. Literally.

She's been absently walking around the busy streets, relying on only her intuition to find her way back to her new apartment.

The girl knows that she should have just gone home with Levi. But after explaining to him that she simply just wanted to look around the big city, it wasn't until later she eventually realized that she had no fucking idea where she was headed.

Mikasa knitted her eyebrows together, frowning. If she wasn't an idiot and instead asked her new guardian to come with her to explore the town, she wouldn't be in this mess. (At least she was alone. Well if you didn't count the other fifty citizens around her, but at least she didn't have to awkwardly make small-talk with them.)

The dark-eyed girl turned left. (But wait, didn't she just see that building from earlier? What the hell, did she just make a circle?) Mikasa spun on her heel, heading the other direction. Hopefully, the new turn was bringing her closer to the apartment rather than even farther. (Wait no, she's seen that bush two minutes ago.) Growling, she made a 180 turn, heading back to the four-way she was at previously. Finally, she decided to retrace her steps and head back to school instead of walking around the streets like a lost toddler.

Moving into a larger city was an enormous adjustment for Mikasa to get used to. It wasn't exactly like her old cottage on the outskirts of Vancouver. California was busier, much busier than she was used to and although the area was much larger, she still unfortunately ended up on what she assumed was the Ghetto area.

There were vandalised buildings, broken beer bottles, junkies on the side of buildings and a group of kids throwing rocks at the passing cars nearby. (It was only five pm. Mikasa wondered what the area would look like near midnight.)

She remembers the time when she went with her mother into the rougher areas of Vancouver on a Friday night. Vividly, she recalls the rowdy teenagers and the strong scent of tobacco that overwhelmed her senses, causing her to hold her mom's hand tighter and hide her face into her dress.

Now, she held her hands together in her sweater, doing her best to paint on her best bitch face that read "don't fucking talk to me."

"Hey, beautiful! Smile for us, won't ya?"

Mikasa paused.

_She's not that young, I guess._

_Pretty, isn't she?_

_She'll be worth a ton. _

Slowly, she turned her head towards the man that called on her, her voice silent but her dark eyes glimmered at him sharply, explaining enough. The blond man widened his eyes in fear slightly before narrowing his eyes at her, throwing his hand up to flip her off.

"Fucking hell! I was just paying you a comment, jeez woman!"

Mikasa took deep breaths, walking away from the busier side of the road and to the side of the building. Hopefully, nobody would disturb her there. Crossing her fingers, she pulled out her phone, desperate to find at least _one _signal on her shitty telephone.

She frowned at her phone and shoved it back into her pocket when she found none. Sighing, she looked out to the street, spotting a woman who was holding a toddler while pushing a stroller alone.

(Directions. Maybe she should just give up and ask a nice looking woman where she was, or if she could use her pho-)

"My, my," a rough voice growled into her ear. Mikasa froze as she felt hands slime up from down her shoulder to above her bottom, nearly puking in disgust as she felt his hands give her a light squeeze.

"Aren't you pretty?"

* * *

**A/N: this took me three weeks whoops? Writing it actually only took me about a week, but I was busy. /sweats/ what no im not lying what are you talking about? this story is focused on mikasa, but we will be seeing most of the characters have their pov at least once or twice in the story. Next chapter will be focused on mikasa's past, and we will get some armin yay. Please follow, favourite and review, that is what inspires me to write! goodbye sunflower children idfk**


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own shit lol**

* * *

Armin held onto the car's assist handle even tighter when Eren ungracefully switched lanes yet again on the busy road.

"Eren!" Armin squealed. "You need to look behind whenever you switch lanes!"

The brunet took his eyes off the road, turning his head to the right to look at Armin. "I did! It was a brief glance. You probably didn't see me do it," Eren defended himself.

The shorter boy's eyes widened. "Keep your eyes on the road!"

Huffing, Eren turned his attention back to the cars and signs surrounding them, allowing Armin to sigh in relief. Even though they were best friends, whenever the taller boy found himself behind the wheel Armin wanted to do nothing more than jump out of the car. (Even _that _was practically more safe than enduring his reckless driving.)

It was a miracle that the two have never been in an accident ever since Eren had earned his driver's license. Although Armin was _clearly _the better driver, his stubborn friend often refused to sit in the passenger seat, claiming that every time he sat behind the wheel was more practice for the next time. Then he would defend himself by claiming that at least he wasn't as slow as the blond.

"So how's your little party planning committee coming along? Did you suggest the condoms?"

Armin's teeth gritted together tightly as Eren slammed his feet down on the gas pedal, racing through the yellow light that blinked less than a second ago.

"It was good. And no! Of course I didn't! But Hitch suggested it, and Mr. Shadis is actually considering it."

Eren's eyebrows rose. "Wow. I didn't think they were going to hand those out." His fingers tapped on the steering wheel. "Speaking of hands, I was thinking of asking Annie to teach me kick boxing tomorrow."

"Really?"

"Yup," Eren popped the 'p'. "No chickening out this time."

Armin looked at Eren curiously. "How are you going to ask her?"

The other teenager cleared his throat before announcing his plan.

"Okay, I don't want to go straight up to her and ask. Frist, I'll grab her wrist, and cross my fingers that from there, a little fire will start off and she'll start splitting my ass into two. Then, after that, I'll do my best to impress her with _something_. Maybe a kick or a punch- I don't know, I'll practice tonight- and then when she wins the fight, I'll compliment her skills and ask her to teach me!"

"Or you can just go up to Annie and ask her straightforward?" Armin suggested.

Eren threw a hand in the air. "Pfft! Maybe If it was someone else, but this is Annie we're talking about."

"She's very exclusive, but she doesn't treat _everyone_ like you," Armin pointed out.

The green eyed boy narrowed his eyes in thought.

"You're right!" He exclaimed loudly, turning to face Armin. "She doesn't hate you, right?"

"Road!" Armin yelled, commanding the brunet to whip his head forward to the road again.

"And no," the blond breathed out. "She doesn't."

"That's great!" Eren exclaimed as he grew a wide grin. Maybe with Armin, he would be able to convince Annie to teach him. (He swears that he saw Annie blush once or twice at his best friend before. Bonus. )

"Asking her should be easy then. Especially since she has that little crush on you," Eren added. His eyes were wide open, finger tapping rapidly on his wheel due to his overwhelming excitement. Finally, he was going to be taught by a (sort of) professional.

Armin blushed lightly. "I know she likes me, but I don't want to use that to our advantage."

Eren shook his head, his smile far from faltering. "We're not using it to our advantage, it's just a little bonus on our side."

Sighing, the smaller boy looked out the window, his eyes scanning the busy streets around the minivan.

"Make another right," he instructed Eren. "My Grandpa's pharmacy should be the third building."

"Okay," the green eyed boy complied as his eyes scattered around the environment out of curiosity. He noted the buildings with paint peeling off, graffiti displayed on the side of buildings like an art gallery. There was an abundance of mixed faces around them, varying from badly sunburnt shirtless men to long nosed young women with multiple kids surrounding them.

Eren rolled the windows back up when the scent of gasoline and weed started to fill in the car. Armin moved the strawberry car scent in front of the air conditioners to help rid the stench despite the fact that the overwhelming artificial scent gave him a headache.

"You know, when you told me that we would be going together after practice to get your Grandpa's medicine, I didn't expect we would be going to this part of town at all," Eren referred to their surroundings.

Armin shrugged his shoulders. "It's the closest to the school, and we don't live too far from here anyways."

Suddenly, Armin's head was thrown back and into the head rest as Eren slammed on his brakes suddenly. The movement caused him to sputter, looking at Eren wildly.

"What happened?" Armin questioned the brunet, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion as Eren had his eyes narrowed, looking out of the blond's window.

He turned his head to see what Eren was looking at, his blue eyes widening at the sight of a dark haired girl fighting between a larger man in an alley between the pharmacy and nightclub.

"Shit!" Eren yelled out. "Let's go help her!"

* * *

The first thing Mikasa's mind automatically registered to do was to elbow the man's neck right behind her, successfully slamming the point hard on his Adam's Apple.

"Fuck!" The man shoved Mikasa away, reaching for his throat. She turned on her heel quickly, ready to run away as the pervert coughed blood onto the ground.

But right as she lifted her foot off the ground, he yanked her hair back harshly, causing Mikasa to hiss in pain.

The experience was too familiar. She remembered a war cry that ended with warm blood splattered on her face. Two bodies that looked strikingly similar to her parents (she refused to think they were anyone she knew) and the struggle that determined the outcome of her life that resulted in absolute pain.

For a second, she wanted to stop in her shoes. Squeeze her eyes shut and hope that everything was just a shitty dream, and that when she opened them again she would be back at the cabin, reviewing her homeworking with her parents in the living room.

But the last time she attempted to shut herself off ultimately resulted in a series of nightmares and ghosts that would continuously lick at her bones every night.

Mikasa didn't have a choice.

Grabbing her hair, she forcefully ripped herself out of his grip, growling at him as he smirked at her wickedly.

She brought her forearms in front of her for defense, immediately shooting her left first right between his eyes. Mikasa inwardly winces as her knuckles met his face, the harsh contact being more painful than she imagined. As soon as she pulled her hand back, she rubbed her thumb across her tender knuckles before closing her fists again.

"Son of a bitch!" The man yelled in pain, massaging the bruising area. But when Mikasa thought that he had finally given up, he opened his mouth wide, grinning at her blindly.

He wasn't going to stop until he got what he wanted.

"You don't know how much I love it when she's rough."

Resisting the urge to gag, Mikasa lifted her bent knee towards her chest before quickly flicking the rest of her leg upwards, her sneaker meeting the man's bearded jaw. (She smiled inwardly when she heard a cracking noise.)

Her eyes widened for the briefest moment in the disbelief as the oversized man simply shook his head off as if it was nothing.

"Come on! Just you and me! I just need you for a second!" He gritted behind his teeth between the punches he attempted to throw at the girl, only to have her avoid them fast as lightning.

Along with each fist he threw, the taller man moved one step forward, causing Mikasa to take one more step backwards and closer to the back of the buildings there between.

Finally, Mikasa ducked, crawling from between his legs to pop out behind him. Her eyes darted around her surroundings as she thought of her next move.

Mikasa sprang into action when she saw the metallic trash can beside her, and the next thing she could register was the loud crashing sound that echoed in between the walls after hard skin made contact with metal.

The dark haired girl almost regretted using the trash can to knock him out, because as soon as she lifted the bin to her waist, all the contents fell out, spilling onto both her and the ground.

She panted heavily, almost positive that her lungs were going to explode as she attempted to catch her breath. Her heart raced as she saw the large man on the ground, unresponsive to his environment.

"Hey!"

Mikasa spun around on her heel, her forearms already in front of her face for self defense.

* * *

**lmao whoops I updated too late. I just got my laptop fixed and yeeaaaaaaahhh. i'm lying when I say I did not half ass this chapter just so I could update faster. yeah yeah quality over quantity whatever suck my ass i just needed to get back on track asap. gomenesai children. next update should come by faster. peace out home skillet**


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